Ever since we saw an image on bhg.com a few months ago with open shelves and baskets, we started thinking about taking the door off of our bathroom’s linen closet. We realized that a few chic baskets could convert our claustrophobic closet into clean and functional open shelving (by now you know we’re crazy about open living). And then when we crashed Lesley & Jeff’s fabulous home, her doorless bathroom closet sealed the deal:

But first some photographic proof as to why our current closet door situation was so not working for us. Check out the serious door war that regularly occurred between the linen closet door and the bathroom door. Argh! Talk about a design flaw.

So one day while John was sittin’ pretty at work, I took a screwdriver, a hammer and a crowbar to the door and off it came (along with the door jamb so that the opening looked a lot more like a built-in shelving nook than a doorless linen closet).

After we erased any evidence that a door once existed (by caulking the hinge holes and removing the door latch) I extended the bathroom’s soothing tan wall color into the nook (Glidden’s Sand White) and painted the door frame and the shelves a crisp glossy white.

Then I just reused the baskets that already housed our sheets and towels and introduced some other creative storage solutions from a few objects that we had laying around the house (two cheap white Ikea planters for nail polish and toothbrushes). Even the toilet paper looks great in its newly spiffed home.

But the entire project wasn’t entirely free, we did splurge on two bigger baskets (for a few more towels) to stack on the floor of the closet. Luckily we scored ‘em at Michael’s for 50% off, so we basically got two large rectangular woven trunks for the price of one (25 measly bucks total). Not bad for the entire bathroom closet project.

So what do you guys think? Could you live with an open linen closet or do you think some things are better left behind closed doors? And don’t worry, we’re totally aware that we’re waaay more into open storage than the average bear. Luckily we’re also waaaay more compulsively neat than the average bear (to a somewhat insane degree) so it’s perfect for us. Whatever works, right?

95 Comments

I love your new open shelving! We have all open shelving in our bathroom (with the same black and white tile and a white pedestal sink). It’s been tough to decide what type of storage items to use, so thanks for the ideas.

I love the idea of open storage because I think it would keep me honest (ie force me to keep my clutter under control!). I think that open storage works if it can be arranged in a visually calm way. The laundry/dog supplies closet will, for the time being, remain under wraps :)

So glad you’re loving project door be gone! Elizabeth, our tip would be to keep a pretty unified color scheme (ie: all white and tan, all black and white, or even just all white) and try to repeat a few boxes or bins so that not every item is a different size and shape (which might look kind of chaotic). In other words, if you end up going with glass jars and white metal bins, try bringing in a few identical versions of each container for some repetition and order. Hope that helps!

Beth, we still hang our towels on the back of the bathroom door (of course that door will forever STAY!) so in losing the closet door it didn’t effect our cute little monogrammed towel hooks. Whew.

Ya know…we have the same set up, and when we redid our bath we needed a bit more storage (4 teens) so we found a 4 drawer lower cabinet and fit it in the bottom, and added some leftover counter on top.We kept the top shelves. Voila a little makeup area…and every kid has their own drawer. We did put a door back on, but a full length mirrored door.It would also look good without a door.

i love the transformation! i just found your website last week and i have enjoyed looking at your ideas and all the neat changes you have progressively made in your home. you two are so innovative, creative, and handy and i love what you have done within your home. it’s very inspirational for my own home, so thanks for sharing and all the time you take in writing these posts! :)

I love the door removed. I did the same exact project to mine a few months ago. Not only is it visually appealing but it’s practical because you don’t have two doors to fight with. Oddly, my bathroom is nearly identical to yours in the layout (including the placement of the linen closet) except my door swings the other way. :)

Linen closets are one of the most perfect spots for open shelving. Folded/rolled towels are easy to keep looking neat and little items can be kept in boxes. Best of all, its easy to reach into when your soaking wet and need a towel!

I wish we had in bathroom closets. For some reason, the Victorians didn’t need to store their towels :)

I just might have to do this. Our linen closet in our bathroom has the same door issue. I wonder how I could make mine look so neat though since I store stockpile of shampoo and stuff in there. Hmm, I’ll have to give this a though.

I wish I had a linen closet and didn’t have to keep all linens somewhere else. And I wish this wasn’t a rental and we could remove doors. But for now I have to say I just love how yours look, and you just reminded me that I need to go and do something to my molger unit from Ikea. For now, everything is still in a bag (including all the pretty baskets we bought to put things in). I guess I have to keep reminding myself “one room at a time” and go to work.

By the way, I love how you can strip off a door jamb and make it look like it never happened. I’m sure I’d never be able to do such a neat job!

While our decorating style is quite opposite of yours(we love tons of color, vintage prints, eclectic Pottery Barn Style) we always love the photos you always provide of your makeovers! This one is no exception. Alas, with a sticky 3 year old boy living in our house, we have had to do away with the open storage and keep doors on any closets we don’t want him to completely rearrange in the 30 second span of time that we aren’t looking! We do still use baskets, though to keep the closets and bookshelves organized.

Was yours a tiny door? My linen closet in the bathroom has a louvered door that’s less than half the width of a normal door. I keep quilting supplies in there, as I’m the only member of the family who can actually fit a shoulder in there to get anything out!

I am definitely a “keep it behind closed doors” kinda girl. I even did a post a my blog a couple months ago titled “Open Shelving Is My Nemesis”, lol! But I just love what you’ve done here–it looks great! And is certainly more functional than the door war you had going on before. Love it!

The first picture has exactly the shape and dimensions of our tricky upstairs bath (we’re also in Richmond – hello neighbor!), and you’ve helped us figure out how we’re going to update our upstairs bath and laundry area to create a chic spa area. It’s oddly shaped (including two dormer windows and slanting ceilings), but we’ve gotten a LOT of inspiration from your blog. Your home is just gorgeous. Before we start the bathroom overhaul, we’ll make sure to take lots of “before” pictures to send in!

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Hey, we're Sherry & John. This is where we chronicled 7 years of our lives as we fixed up 3 homes, had 2 children, became accidental authors and product designers, and shared our adventures (and misadventures) with the world. Now it's a time capsule of sorts, complete with nearly 3,000 posts, projects, and updates.